The announcement, made at a partners’ meeting in San Francisco, came after the firm’s board voted unanimously to become an independent, privately-held company, ending its relationship with the Big Five accountancy firm.

David Owen, UK managing director of Deloitte Consulting said: ‘We took a hard look at our industry and believe that independence and private ownership will enable us to stay true to our core values.’

DTT announced in February this year its intention to hive off the consultancy practice, admitting market pressure had forced the seperation.

James Copeland, chief executive officer of DTT, said: ‘We have maintained that we cannot put our clients in the position of having to choose between working with the world’s best auditing professionals and our world-class colleagues from Deloitte Consulting.’

All the partners of the firm will be asked to participate in what will effectively be a management buy-out while funding for the new company is currently being negotiated.